Against ISIS, Jordan has a big gun: social cohesion
Fearing 'another Mosul,' residents of Karak rushed to join a battle against Islamic State militants. Jordanians have joined ISIS abroad, but at home, a sense of civic duty has made the country hostile territory for the extremists.
Members of the Jordanian Gendarmerie, other police, and residents mourn the death of Lt.-Col. Saed al-Maaytah, as his body is laid in the ground at his funeral near the Jordanian city of Karak, about 87 miles south of the capital Amman, Monday, Dec. 19, 2016.
Ben Curtis/AP
Amman, Jordan
When Islamic State militants launched a fatal attack in the center of Karak, Jordan, on Sunday, storming a centuries-old Crusader castle and overwhelming police,聽residents responded in a way rarely seen in聽this聽region.
They took up arms and confronted them.
While waiting for nearly聽an hour聽for special forces to arrive聽in the southern Jordan city, and facing an indiscriminate hail of bullets from the castle鈥檚 walls, dozens of ordinary citizens took up their own licensed guns, clubs, and stones聽in an effort聽to draw the聽IS fighters聽out.
The聽Karak residents鈥� fight was not quelled with the聽arrival of special forces. Several videos circulated on social media of citizens storming the castle gates alongside security forces,聽pleading with police to聽share the burden of聽the fight, yelling聽鈥淸our lives] are not worth more than yours鈥�. Let us face them!鈥�
Security sources say police had to physically restrain dozens of civilians from attempting to enter the castle, at times unable to hold them back.
鈥淲hen we saw gunmen take the castle, we only had one reaction: We did not want to become another Mosul,鈥澛燢arak resident聽Mohammed Sarayreh says,聽referring to the city in northern Iraq that has been an IS stronghold for more than two years.
Clashes between the IS militants and security forces have continued sporadically this week in and near Karak, and 13 Jordanians and a Canadian tourist have been killed. The fighting reportedly has seen civilians take up their arms again, and Jordanians say they have responded with their greatest asset: social cohesion.
After watching cities, villages, and vast regions in neighboring Iraq and Syria fall to the jihadist group as their residents turned on each other, Jordanians instead reached for national unity to confront IS.
Putting community first
鈥淚SIS made a mistake by not reading up聽on聽the history of Jordan,鈥� says Hussein Mahadeen,聽a聽sociologist and professor at Mutah University and聽a聽resident of Karak, noted for its mixed 海角大神 and Muslim community.
鈥淜arak, and Jordan as a whole, has a shared experience of different faiths and backgrounds living together in harmony,鈥澛爃e says.聽鈥淎nything that threatens that harmony is seen as a threat to all and will be confronted.鈥�
Jordanians say聽it is this聽national pride and willingness to put their community聽first that聽is preventing ISIS from gaining a foothold and聽imposing聽a reign of terror.
鈥淯nlike in Syria, Iraq, and even Libya, where there are deep social divisions ISIS takes advantage of, Jordanians of different backgrounds have a national unity and duty in times of crisis,鈥� says Hassan Abu Haniya, a Jordanian expert on extremist movements.
鈥淓ven though some individual Jordanians may join ISIS, the society as a whole comes together to fight it.鈥�
As Jordan teeters towards a state of war with ISIS on its own soil, experts say this solidarity will be key in defeating the group.
Jordan鈥檚 relatively small population of 9 million聽and the intermarriage among various tribes and families from聽both the east and west banks聽of the Jordan river 鈥撀爄ncluding various minorities who fled to the country in the 20th century 鈥� make much of the country act like a cohesive family unit in times of crisis.
鈥淚f the family is threatened, then all of the family rises up to face the threat,鈥� says Nabil Sharif,聽an聽analyst and former Jordanian information minister.
鈥淭his is what we saw in a very noble and heroic manner in Karak, where people were ready to put their lives on the line to protect their city.鈥�
Civilians on the front line
Jordan鈥檚 interior minister, Salameh Hamad, has warned citizens not to take part in operations, and to allow 鈥渟pecially trained forces鈥� to carry out 鈥渧ery difficult operations.鈥�
The sense of solidarity in the face of the聽IS jihadists聽was first shown in February 2015 after the group聽burned alive聽a captive Jordanian pilot, Muath Kassasbeh, spurring thousands to protest against IS and plunging the country into a state of national mourning.
The sense of civic duty聽鈥� citizens acting as a community watch and alerting authorities to any suspicious behavior 鈥� has made Jordanian civilians an active and effective front line in the fight against terrorism.
Planned聽IS聽attacks聽have been foiled repeatedly聽this year.
It was the tip from a landlord and his sons who smelled gunpowder聽that聽led police to uncover the聽Karak-area聽militants at their rented apartment 20 miles east of the city聽on Sunday.
Investigators say聽the militants were concocting large-scale explosives and聽compiling a stockpile聽of explosive belts and weapons that聽Mr. Hamad said would have 鈥渢hreatened all of Jordan 鈥� not just Karak.鈥� By all accounts, the tip from the landlord prevented a larger attack and tragedy.
In the northern city of Irbid in March,聽a tip聽about a group of suspicious young men who moved into the neighborhood in a rented flat exposed what Jordan says was an IS-aligned cell. After a several-hour shootout聽that聽led to the deaths of one policeman and seven militants, authorities uncovered a cache of weapons and explosives likely designed for a聽large-scale operation.
In June, an聽off-duty聽forest ranger聽in a mosque tackled and captured a gunman who killed five intelligence officers earlier that day.
鈥淭he civil society time and time again has acted as a聽spoiler 鈥� in Karak, Irbid, and Baqaa, all these plots were uncovered by citizens, not security agencies,鈥� says Mr. Abu Haniya.
鈥淭his cooperation between the society and security agencies is something you don鈥檛 see in other countries in the region and has placed civilians on the front lines in the fight against ISIS.鈥�
Stigma of terrorism
Jordanians have proven to be driven in their fight against IS 鈥� even when those militants are their own brothers, sons, and cousins.
Around 3,000 Jordanians fight under the banner of the Islamic State聽in Iraq and Syria, according to various official estimates, making Jordan home to the highest number of IS fighters per capita in the world.
Some are driven by a lack of job opportunities聽or聽a sense of duty to protect Sunni Muslims.
Yet the stigma of terrorism and extremism repels families and tribes across the country, who see it as a stain on their honor as a聽collective whole.聽This has led many tribes and families to disown sons and daughters who have joined IS.
According to leaks in the local press, confirmed by family members, four gunmen who stormed the Karak castle are from the city themselves or have relatives in the area.
In a statement, the family of one of the alleged IS fighters, Karak resident Mohammed Khatib, refused to receive and bury their son聽on Tuesday, denouncing his terrorist affiliation.
鈥淲e, sons of the Khatib tribe, denounce the criminal act 鈥� which has no relation to religion or our tribe,鈥� the family said in a statement published in local press聽Tuesday.
鈥淚n 150 years we have known nothing but loyalty and allegiance to this homeland even before its establishment聽鈥� so we refuse his body.鈥�
The stigma of terrorism and聽an outpouring of genuine聽support for security services have made hardline Salafists and jihadists largely unwelcome in Jordan 鈥� with hardliners themselves saying it is the聽鈥渕ost hostile鈥� atmosphere in the kingdom they have ever faced.
鈥淭he atmosphere does not allow supporters of ISIS to meet, to talk, to even think about doing something in Jordan,鈥� says聽Mohammed Shalabi,聽a leader of Jordan鈥檚 hardline Salafist jihadist group,聽which is聽ideologically aligned with Al Qaeda聽but聽is a critic of IS.
鈥淚t has put anyone who ideologically supports Salafists under suspicion by the state and the people.鈥�